Page 7 of Property of Legend

“That garden.Those flowers.Youdestroyed them.”

He squints over at the mess.“Ain’t like we set fire to it, Horse Princess.Just a little dirt.”

“Thatdirtwas for my grandmother.You know that.”

He shrugs.“Didn’t see a fence.”

“You shouldn’t have been hereat all.” My voice cracks like a whip.“This isParadise.You don’t belong here.”

He straightens slowly, steps off his bike with that heavy, predatory grace.The patch on his chest reads “LEGEND,” bold white block letters over black leather.His boots chomp the dirt as he closes the space between us.

“It’s not yours anymore, Sophie,” he says low.“That abandoned stretch past the rail line?All those foreclosed shops?That’s King's territory now.”

“You take over the strip mall, too?”I scoff.

He leans in, just enough that I catch the scent of gasoline, shine, and something illegal.“We raisedHell,” he whispers.“Folks don’t like it.We give ‘em Hell.”

I clench my fists.My whole body shakes.“You don’t scare me.”

He grins.“Liar.”

“Don’t come near me again.”I poke a finger at his chest, jabbing it hard enough to rock him back a step.“Don’t come near my father.Don’t come near the farm.You better not show your face around Paradise Falls again.”

Something shifts in his face.Not fear.Not shame.Just a flicker of something darker.“You think you can still boss me around, Montgomery?”

“No,” I hiss.“IknowI can.”

He studies me a moment before he barks, “Nobody fucks with the Kings.”

“You mean no one wants to fuck you?”I bite back.

“You begged me to take you with me last summer, remember that?If I had, you would’ve been mine that night, legs wide open.But I left you behind, 'cause I didn’t need some high-and-mighty little princess thinkin’ she could own me.”

His words hit too close to home.My words stumble.“Well, I’m glad you didn’t ruin my life.”

Then, like I don’t matter at all, he flicks his cigarette butt into my grandma’s memorial, turns and throws a leg over his Harley.

The engine roars to life.

Over the thunder, he calls, “That mouth’s gonna get you in trouble one day, Princess.”

“Try me,” I snap.

And then he’s gone, tires peeling over the graveled road like he owns it.

James comes running up, red-faced and breathless.“What the hell wasthat?”

“That,” I say, staring after the smoke trail.“Was a warning.”

“His daddy, Legendary Mike, is back in town.Stirring up trouble,” James says and mutters something about calling our daddy, but I don’t hear him.

Because my chest is a war zone.

And I don’t know if I’m more furious thatHudsonis gone…

Or more heartbroken thatLegendis what’s left.

10 Years Later

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